Manchester

On May 22nd, a terrorist attack destroyed innocent lives and shattered their families. In the guise of religion, ISIS struck again, killing 22 innocent people, many of them children. I don’t understand how these destructive acts further their cause. It certainly doesn’t generate sympathy or understanding for these militants. I can only hope that justice will prevail sooner rather than later. In the meantime, what arises out of the ashes are heroes and villains. The heroes are our beacons of light and inspiration—they restore our faith in humanity and inspire us to keep working for a better future. The villains, on the other hand, demonstrate the long, long journey we have to go until evil is defeated. We saw both aspects in the suicide bombing after the Ariana Grande concert. The following are those participants thus far.

Heroes

We can never say homeless people have nothing to offer. Or a conscience. Upon hearing the massive explosions, Steve Jones, sleeping near the Manchester Arena, awoke with a start and helped rescue children, pulling nails out of their bodies. He and a friend also came to the aid of a woman who would have bled to death without their assistance.

Chris Parker, another homeless man, had intended to beg for money that evening. He rushed to assist victims. He comforted a girl who lost her legs and then cradled a woman until she died.

Paula Robinson was at the Victoria Train Station near the Manchester Arena when the bomb exploded. When she saw two young children saying “Where is my dad, get my dad,” Paula rushed over to them and told them she would take them away. As more children were running out of the arena, she directed them to run to the nearby Holiday Inn. Paula ended up leading about 50 children to safety.

Kim Dick and her husband Phil were waiting in the foyer for their family after the concert was over when the bomb went off. She took care of a 14 year-old girl who was fleeing the scene. She was covered in blood, her hair was burnt, and blood was oozing out of her mouth. Kim held her and stopped the blood spurting out of her legs and shoulder. The girl was hospitalized and fortunately survived, thanks to Kim Dick’s quick thinking.

Kelly Brewster made the ultimate sacrifice: she shielded her sister and niece when the bomb went off as they were leaving the arena. Her sister and niece suffered multiple injuries but will survive because Kelly protected them. She was an office worker who only the day before had put down a deposit on a house she was supposed to share with her boyfriend.

Villains

Very often there are evil perpetrators along with those shining lights of bravery. The one who decided his life objective was to bring tragedy and destruction to the world was a 22 year-old man named Salman Ramadan Abedi. He was a British Muslim whose parents came from Libya. Instead of contemplating a productive life now that he was living in a free country, Abedi embraced Islamic extremism. He studied business management at Manchester College but dropped out. Police believe he used his student loans, which are funded by taxpayers, to travel overseas and learn bomb-making.

This is what investigators have learned so far. It is certain more people were involved in this terrorist plot, their names most likely will be identified as more evidence comes to light.

Many times acts of evil bring out the best in humanity. Nevertheless, the 22 killed and the 116 injured have caused devastation for years to come. While we wish this evil did not exist, at the very least it gives us a clear perspective of who are the heroes and who are the villains.

Note: After I finished writing this piece, it happened again: On Saturday, June 3rd, three Muslim terrorists in a van ran over and knifed people before being shot dead by police. Seven were killed and 48 injured. When will it finally end?